Preventing attempted fraud in telephonic or other transactions involving oral communications is typically important to many entities, particularly when the fraud involves financial transactions. For example, when a person loses a credit card and calls the credit card company to obtain a replacement, the credit card company often wants to ensure that the person calling is the true cardholder. If a person attempts to fraudulently obtain a replacement card of a different cardholder, then the person may use the replacement credit card to make fraudulent charges. The credit card company can often incur significant losses due to these fraudulent charges. Therefore, the credit card company typically desires to reduce or eliminate fraud.
In that regard, credit card companies often implement certain procedures and install technologies in an attempt to verify the identity of customers who call them. One such technology is the use of an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) service, which attempts to identify the telephone number of an incoming call. A credit card company can maintain a database of area codes from which it has historically received a high number of fraudulent callers. If the telephone number of the person calling is within one of those high fraud area codes, the credit card company can flag the call for additional procedures or investigation to verify the true identity of the caller.
However, the ANI service has certain limitations. For example, the ANI service does not easily permit one to pinpoint the exact geographic location of the caller. Also, it is possible that multiple persons can be associated with the same telephone number, which can make it difficult to identify which of those persons is the caller. Ultimately, the ANI service only provides a general indication of whether the caller is from an area known to be associated with a high number of fraudulent transactions. However, if the caller is not calling from one of those high fraud area codes, the ANI service provides no indication to provide additional screening, although the caller may actually be attempting to actually engage in fraud.
Aside from credit card companies, many other entities receive calls from customers and desire a way to verify the true identity of the callers. This verification can be useful, for example, in determining whether to execute a particular transaction requested by a caller. Accordingly, a need exists for a more reliable way to minimize fraud in telephonic transactions or other transactions involving oral communications, or to screen callers for other purposes during those transactions.